The Supreme Court Accepts Christians' Plea for Adoption Rights

The highest court in the country, the Supreme Court of India has accepted the petition of the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI) to make provision for Christians to be able to adopt children legally, so far only Hindus are allowed to do so.

A Supreme Court bench comprising of Justice K.G Balakrishnan and Justice Ravindran has accepted the petition filed by EFI on July 14, but the hearing will come up in August. EFI is a New Delhi based Christian Non–governmental Organisation.

Dr. Rajeev Dhawan, Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court who represented the EFI, told the court that EFI is also an effected party in the ongoing case related to absence of adoption rights for religious minorities as it represents a large number of Christians in India.

In 2005, the court was hearing a similar petition filed by a Muslim social activist Shabnam Hashmi that would permit religious minorities to adopt children. In the same year the court had issued a notice to the Federal government, seeking its response on the issue and was supposed to files its reply by July 14, 2007, but have sought more time.

The hearing of the petition will come up in August 2007; the court has not specified the date.

What the Law says?
Article 14 of the Indian Constitution guarantees every citizen the right to equality before the law, but only Hindus can “legally” adopt in India. Christians and other religious minorities can only become “guardians.”

According to estimates, India has more than 12 million orphaned and 44 million destitute children. Barely 5,000 are adopted each year.

The law that governs adoption in India is the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act of 1956, which allows only Hindus to adopt. Christians, Muslims, Parsis, Jews and others can only become guardians under the Guardians and Wards Act of 1890.

The Guardians and Wards Act of 1890, however, does not give the child the status of the family’s biological children, and guardianship may be revoked in certain situations. Moreover, there is no legal relationship once the child reaches age 18 years.

A law that was passed in 2000, the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act (JJA) of 2000, allows Christians and other religious minorities to adopt, but confusion about the role of adoptive agencies has stalled implementation.

Section 41 (3) of the JJA states that the Juvenile Justice Board “shall be empowered to give children in adoption,” implying that the state government must empower the adoption body and the Board’s adoptive powers are not automatic.

However, till date, no state government has notified its Board about its authorities and powers.

Read more from Related Story:
Christians concern over Minorities not allowed to adopt Children

Related Website:
Official website of Evangelical Fellowship of India